Welders earning $100K+ in PA
Seasoned welders and electricians in Pennsylvania are earning more than $100,000 a year at data center and energy project sites, with demand outstripping supply.
Snapshot · All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Senators John Fetterman and Dave McCormick: Bipartisanship, Money in DC, Datacenters, Graham Platner
Explore episode
Jun 10, 2026
Where this was said
How AI and energy are playing a part in PA's blue collar boom, dark money funding misinformation
At 37:20 · chapter starts 28:11
McCormick details the $92B energy and AI investment wave transforming Pennsylvania, including Homer City's 4.4GW conversion. Welders earn $100K+. Fetterman warns the US is only 6–8 months ahead of China in AI, making a data center moratorium a China-first policy.
Pennsylvania's Blue-Collar AI Boom
$92 billion of investment committed at McCormick's summit. Welders and electricians earning over $100K a year. Data centers generating 2 logistics jobs for every direct job. Pennsylvania is experiencing a genuine blue-collar construction boom, and the trades are all-in.
$92B investment committed in PA
At McCormick's Energy Innovation Summit in Pennsylvania last July, $92 billion of investment was committed by energy and AI companies.
4.4 GW Homer City project
A Homer City, Pennsylvania coal plant is being converted to natural gas, producing 4.4 gigawatts — 3.4 GW for a data center complex, 1 GW back to the grid.
Dark Money and Misinformation Driving Anti-Data Center Campaign
Opposition to data centers isn't just NIMBYism — McCormick says it's largely being driven by China and outside forces funding misinformation campaigns. The playbook mirrors the anti-fracking campaign from 15 years ago. Then it took 15 years to get to 80% public support. The US doesn't have 15 years in the AI race.
PA: 4th largest natural gas reserve
McCormick said Pennsylvania has the fourth-largest natural gas reserves in the world — if it were a country, it would rank number four globally.
80% support fracking in PA now
McCormick estimated that despite initial fierce opposition, approximately 80% of Pennsylvanians now support fracking, 15 years after the battles over shale development.
America's AI Lead Over China: Only 6–8 Months
The US is only 6 to 8 months ahead of China in the AI race. A Democratic push for a data center moratorium would hand that lead to Beijing. Fetterman calls it a 'China first' policy and says the choice is binary: America builds the AI chassis, or China does.
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